Railway draft gear



May 5, 1931. w. F. KIESEL, .1RA 1,804,345

RAILWAY DRAFT GEAR Filed sept. 9, 192e 3 sheets-sheen 1 s S I la lgnvcntoz swim WTQWMVM Stratum- May 5, 1931. w. F. KlEsEL, JR 1,804,345

` RAILWAY DRAFT GEAR Filed Sept. 9, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Lm 0/ W v ,m mm NIT l# AN uw m\\\.m .l 1| I 1| O 7 w @w w 5 F @W Nm. QN m o \\TN`M wY.,

May 5, 1931. w. F. KlEsEL. JR

RAILWAY DRAFT GEAR 3 sheets-sheet :s

Filed Sept. 9, 1926 Patented May 5, 1931 .lerares RAILWAY DRAFT GEARApplication led September 9, 1926. Serial 1\To.- 13{l=,527.`

This invention relates to railway draft appliances 'and moreparticularly to the provision of means on a vehicle Afor the reception,in a longitudinal direction, of a .l5 double acting draft gear, draftyoke, coupler butt and associated parts.

It is aV general object of the present invention to provide a novel andimproved type of draft appliance adapted to be used at the front end oflocomotives and on tenders and cars. y

More particularly'it is an object of this invention to provide a draftcasting having a draft assembly pocket open at Vthe end for thereception of a friction draft gear, a draft yoke, followers and acoupler butt, removable means/being provided to retain said assembly inposition in the pocket and' to take the draw bar pull.

A further object of the present invention consists in theprovision of'adraft pocket casting having formed integral therewith rear stops, saidpocket being open at the outer end for the Y reception of a single,double acting friction draft'gear, afollower, a draft yoke and a couplerbutt,y said coupler butt and draft `yoke being pivoted 'together, keysbeinO- provided to be removably positioned against said follower toretain the draft assembly in the pocket, said keys being substantiallyin alignment with the pivotal'connection between the draft yoke and thecouplerbutt, there being means pro-` vided to retain the coupler head incentral position.

A still further object of the present invention consists in theprovision of a draft assembly pocket having an open end of a sizesuflicient to receive therethroughthe whole f, draft assembly, saidendbeingV provided with adjustable filler blocks to support the draw barwhich is less vin cross sectional area than said opening.

Other and'further objects ofthe present invention will be more apparentto those skilled in the art after a consideration of the ,followingspecification and accompanying drawings* wherein are disclosed'two eX-emplary embodiments of the invention with the understanding, however,that various and sundry changes may be made therein without ldepartingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

ln said drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view partially in horizontal section lof thepresent invention shown as applied to the front end of a locomotive Fig.2 is a central longitudinal vertical section 'of Fig. l; f

Fig. 8 is a transverse Y section on line 3 .3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line H of Fig. l showing a portion ofthe -adjustingk locks broken away; Y v

Fig. 5 is ak plan view of the rear endv of a tender showing theinvention applied thereto; and j Fig. 6 is a side elevation of Fig. 5showing portions broken away for the sake of clearness. f

Ther customary arrangement of draft mechanism for railway vehiclescomprises a pocket formed in ornear the end of the car in a sill orbuffer and having an open bottominto which the draft gear, draft yokeand other parts may be; lifted and held in place by a pan or strap whichtakes the weight yof the draft assembly. The front and backstops for thedraft gear are usually solidly attached to the partin which the pocketis formed and there is provided a coupler carrier iron to support theouter end of the coupler. Thecasting being open at the bottom, is weakand buiiing and pulling strains tend to break it, as well as` to forcethestrap or pan out of'position. The present invention overcomes theabove difficulties by providing a pocket for the reception of the draftappliances which is closed at the'bottom and `open only at the outerend. Through this opening vthe entire assembly 1s adapted to be placed1n the 4pocket `after which a pair vof keys is positioned to cooperatewith the front follower and retainthe whole assembly in the pocket.Suitable yadjustable filler blocks close portions of the open end of thepocket and serve toadjustably support the coupler head at the properelevation above the track.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to l inclusive,wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention adapted to be applied tothe front end of locomotives, there is disclosed at '10 wnat may betermet the front end casting of the locomotive adapted to be secured, byany suitable fas.- tening means, between the side frames 11 and 12. Theend 13 of the casting is closed with the exception of the centralportion whereinis provided the opening 14 leading to the draft gearpocket 15 within the casting. This pocket is formed by the top plate 16which is substantially flat and the bottom plate 17 which is alsosubstantially flat. The side walls 1S of the pocket converge slightlyfrom the opening 14 and then become parallf until they reach a positionnear the of the casting where they are offset toward each other formingthe shoulders 19 which are the draft rear stops. The walls then continuerearwardly for a short distanceV parallel to eachother. The top plate 16extends from side frame to side frame at the front and has its edgesconverging toward the rear. The bottom plate is of the same shape andthe two converging edges are secured together by vertical walls 2Osuitably reinforced by webs as shown. The toprwall is provided at 21with perforated bosses whereby it is adapted to be bolted to the undersurface of the cylinder saddle of the locomotive.

The rear portion of the pocket 15 is of a size to snugly receive asuitable double-acting, friction draft gear 22 which abuts against thedraft gear rear stops 19 prev1- ously described. likewise of such a sizeas to lit snugly but with freedom of movement in the pocket. Thefunction of the draft gear and follower plate and their operation aretoo well known to need description here. Encircling the draft gearlongitudinally is the draft yoke 2a working in suitable channels formedin the top and bottom plates by offsets toward the front of the pocketand being freed at the rear by means of the cutouts 25 and 26 in the topand bottom plates respectively. Thisdraft yoke is of thetype describedvin the patent to Harry A. Hoke No. 1,213,196, patented January 23,1917, and has provided, in addition to the yoke strap, the hollow metalmember 2T which is widened at the ends into a spade form so that itsubstantially touches the side walls of the pooket to prevent the yokefrom having lateral movement at its forward end, the rear endbeing'restricted where it passes between the nar owed portions of thewalls 18. This hollow member 27 is securely riveted to the front end ofthe yoke strap as shown and near the rear of the hollow member asuitable vertical opening passes through both the hollow member and theyoke strap which The front follower 23 is opening is adapted to receivethe yoke pin 28 having its head seated in a counterbore in the yokestrap. This yoke pin serves to connect the yoke with the coupler butt29, to the forward end of which is secured the coupler head 3G of anyconventional form. For this purpose the rear end of the coupler butt isthickened and drilled to receive the yoke pin 28. The metal of thecoupler butt end is not only thickened to increase the bearing area ofthe yoke pin, but it is widened and provided with a flat rear end asshown at 31. This flat rear end abuts the front face of the frontfollower 23. Since the rear of the yoke strap is abutted by the rear ofthe draft gear, it follows that the front follower will bev pressedtightly against the flat rear end 31 of the coupler butt, which ispivoted to the yoke by the yoke pin 2S forward of the abutting faces 31and the front follower. By this means the springs of the 'draft gearcause the yoke and the coupler butt to maintain an alignment or toreturn to alignment after they have been displaced.

The draft assembly, as the draft gear, draft yoke and coupler butt maybe termed, is adapted to be inserted into the pocket 15 through the openend 14 thereof when the parts of the draft assembly are assembled as aunit. To retain them in the pocket and to provide means to take the pullof the coupler, keys are provided which pass through the top and bottom`plates of the casting and engage against the front of the frontfollower, beside the coupler butt.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 these keys 32 are adapted to be inserted from thetop where they are readily accessible through the pilot of thelocomotive. They are rectangular in form, pass through the top andbottom walls 16 and 17 and are partially housed in olfset'channels33 inthe pocket walls 18. These keys have enlarged heads 34 to prevent themfrom falling through the casting and are retained in position by thesplit keys 35 passing through suitable slots 36 therein and engagingagainst the bottom wall 17 of the casting. The keys are placed inposition after the draft assembly is in the pocket and serve to take thefull strain of the draw bar. Buliing is taken by the draft gear rearstops 19 castvintegral with the pocket. t will be noted that the couplerbutt is much less in cross sectional area than the pocket opening, andhence can have movement to the right and left to accommodate slightmisalignment. of the cars and to take care of any turning move-- ment ofthe cars. It is pivoted to the draft yoke substantially in alignmentwith the two keys 32 so that it has freedom of sidewise movement withoutaffecting the yoke or causing any binding of the yoke in the pocket.This effect is further enhanced by for coupling purposes.

having the yoke extend forwardly ofthe pin and have its spade end guidedby the walls y18 of the pocket.

To support the coupler at the proper ele vation and to partially closethe end of the pocket, the end block 37 and the draw bar carrier block38 are provided against the top and bottom walls respectively at vthemouth of the pocket.

heads recessed in the blocks and are provided with nuts on the outsideof the casting.. In order to take care of sagging of the locomotive dueto settling of the springs and to other causes, means are provided forblocking up the draw bar in order that it may always remain at theproper elevation Suchv means comprises two or more shims 40 which areinitially arranged above the end block 37 in order to retain the spacebetween the end block and the draw bar carrier always the same. As thelocoimotive sags, one or more of the shims are removed from the positionshown and are arranged beneath the draw bar carrier. These blocks, inaddition to 'supporting and guiding the draw bar, serve as a secondarymeans to retain the draft gear in the pocket in case the keys aredarnaged or removed inadvertently.

The draft arrangement just described is particularly adapted for thefront end of locomotives, but the invention is not limited to that use.ln Figs. 5 and 6 is shown a mea-'ns for applying the invention to therear end of a locomotive tender such as that described in the applicantscopending ap-V plication Serial No. 77,567, filed December 2li, 1925,although it need not be limited to that particular type of tenderunderframe.

ln Figs. 5 and 5 there is disclosed the rear end of a tender framehaving a single cen* tral sill formed as a casting provided with theintegral short bolster 5l. A suitable buffer beam 52 is secured to theupper surface ofthe sillcasting by means of the gusset plate 53 insetinto the casting as shown and extending to the ends of the buffer beam.The beam is formed ofl two channel members 54 having a suitabletop platethereon. rl`he end of the sill has provided therein a pocket ofsubstantially the form disclosed in the modification previouslydescribed, but the top of this pocket is, in the casting, open. lt is,however, closed by the gusset plate 53 as clearly shown in the drawings,thus forming a pocket substantially identical with that previouslydescribed and having substantially flat top and bottom walls which,together with the side walls, completely enclose it.

Since the tender tank and other parts cover the gusset, the keys 55 areinserted from the bottom and pass upwardly into the top wall l.of thecasting as in the previous modifica- They are held in po-e. -sition bysuitable bolts 39 which have their tion and are received in similarchannels in the side walls. The keys are retained in position by a.transverse bolt ,56 which passes through suitable holes near thebottomends of the keys v.and through a pair of depending lugs 57integralr with the casting. A 'nut 58 and suitable locking means areprovided to retain the bolt in position. l

. vThe'remaining portions of the device as applied to atender kare thesame as those used in Vconjunction with the locomotive modification andthe operation is rthe same. lt will readily be apparent to thoseskilledin the art how the device may be applied to any forni of railway carwhere it maybe so desired, and it is intended that the claims Vappendedhereto shall be construed as ap` plied to any forni of railway vehicle.

Having thus described the invention,

what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. in a device of the class desc -ibed, in combination, a complete draftassemblyincluding a single draft 0near,frontfand rear followers, a draftyoke and a coupler including shank and butt, a'pocket casting adapted tobe attached to a vehicle and having an open end larger than said couplershank, said draft assembly being adapted to be placed in said pocketthrough said open end while completely assembled, means'pivotallysecuring said yoketo said coupler butt near the front end Aof said yokeand ahead of Vsaid draft gear, keys passing through the top and bottomof said pocket casting and positioned to engage the front follower toretain the draft assembly in said pocket and to take the coupler pull,said keys Ybeing substantially adjacent the connecting means fork saidyoke and coupler butt, and an adjustable coupler shank carrier securedto said casting atthe mouth of said pocket. n l i 2. In a vehicle, incombination, a frame, afcasting 'secured to said fram and havingavdra-ftassembly pockettherein, said pocket opening at the end only andVhaving substantially flat top and'bottonrwalls, a pair of draft gearrear stops integral with said casting, a coupler having a butt smallerin cross section than the pocket opening, a draft yoke pivoted to saidcoupler butt, a single, double-acting draft gear within said yoke, arront/followerfor said draft gear,

said Vcoupler butt khaving va flat rear end behind its pivot, saidfollower and rear end being pressed intoengagemen't bysaid draft gear toalways return the yoke and coupler tok alignment, said draft gear, draftyoke, followerand coupler being adapted to be completely assembled andthen introduced into said pocketthrough the end opening with the draftgear against saidrear stops,

keys adapted to be introduced through said top and bottom walls toengage said follSO lower to retain said assembly in said pocket, saidpivotal connection between said draft yoke and coupler butt being .insubstantial alignment with said keys, and a substantial distance withinsaid pocket, and end blocks secured to said casting above and below saidcoupler shank to partially close the pocket opening.

- 3. In a railway vehicle, in combinatioma frame, a casting seeued tosaid frame and substantially at the end of the vehicle, said castinghaving a pocket thereinopening toward the end of the vehicle, the side,top

and bottom walls of said pocket being sub' stantially flat, a draft gearrear stop in said pocket, a draft assembly including a singledouble-acting draft gear, a draft yoke surrounding said gear, a frontfollower, a coupler having its butt pivoted to said yoke and its endengaging said follower, means on said yoke near the coupler butt toretain said yoke in alignment in said pocket, said coupler butt being ofsuch a size as to have freedom of movement in the mouth of said pocket,the whole draft assembly being adapted to be placed in the pocket as aunit, a key adapted to pass through said casting and engage saidfollower to retain the assembly in the pocket, and filler blocks securedto said casting above and below said coupler butt for the purposedescribed.

4l. Draft gear structure comprising laterally spaced draft beam members,a hollow casting secured between the forward ends of said beam members,a yoke disposed between said beam members, a follower plate exiendingthrough said yoke, laterally spaced abutments on the interior of saidcasting, removable locking keys disposed between said abutments and saidfollower plate, and a removable coupler shank guide on said casting.

5. Draft gear structure comprising` laterally spaced draftbeam members,a hollow casting secured between the forward endsY of said beam members,a yoke disposed between said beam members, a follower plate extendingthrough said yoke, laterally spaced abutments on the interior of saidcasting, removable locking pins disposed between said abutments and saidfollower plate, and a member removably mounted at the front of saidcasting and Vpartiallyv closingv the open end thereof. f

6. Draft gear structure comprising laterally spaced'draft beam members,a hollow casting secured between the forward ends of said beam members,a yoke disposed between said beam members, a follower plate extendingthrough said yoke, laterally spaced abutments on the interior of saidcastings, removable locking keys disposed between said abutments andsaid follower plate, and a member mounted at the front of lsaid castingand partially closing the open end WILLIAM F. KIESEL, JR,

